The One Thing You Can't Do
by Mizu falls from Kumo
Summary: People aren't exactly constant things for Travis, Wes is the exception, and maybe was why he was in love with the man. Travis can handle of a lot of the things Wes does, even if they annoy him or make his heart flutter, but there is one thing Wes can never do. Leave. This is just against the rules of society, didn't Wes know that?
1. The Life Tunnel of Travis Marks

_OMG, I haven't posted a story on FFN for so long! This usually happens when I get addicted to other sites. So I came back with a new fandom!_

_I have a feeling this story is going to annoy me, while it's almost done, I wanted to start posting it when it was done, but I'm tried of waiting so I hope you enjoy. This is a prompt from the Common Law Kink Meme on LJ._

_**Prompt: **__Travis has gone through various foster homes and girlfriends. Wes has been the only constant in his life for the past seven years. His longest relationship ever. That makes Travis realize that he's in love with Wes (and has been for quite a while). But before Travis gets the chance to confess, a case goes wrong and Wes is severely injured and is put in a comia. So Travis sits by Wes's side the entire time and waits for the chance to finally tell his partner how he really feels._

_Sorry for long opening! Hope you all enjoy._

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Travis didn't remember falling in love with Wesley Mitchell. He just sort of woke up one morning and made himself a cup of coffee and had a realization. Boom. He was in love with his partner, Wes and there was no clue as to where his thought came from. However, Travis isn't sure someone can exactly fall in love with Wes.

Wes doesn't exactly flirt, and he's not a hopeless romantic. He was a borderline workaholic and a level of controlling that is above normal, but just below freakish. Nothing about his personality has people swooned. Wes is physically attractive, though. Travis has yet to see a suit that Wes looks bad in, or any article of clothing that doesn't do something for his body. Hats complemented him. Travis put a cowboy hat on his head once, and despite being glared at he, he was somewhat turned on. Wes is relatively nice eye-candy, but there isn't much to love personality wise.

Travis won't lie that Wes is attractive and there had been fantasies of shoving the man against a wall or down on a bed. The stuff of a one night stand or a test. Not a relationship with feelings or things woman talked about.

So Travis' coffee realization had him freaked out. Why the hell was he in love with his partner? _His partner!_ His controlling, ex-lawyer, divorced partner. Maybe it was because Wes was technically a no fly zone, but half the people in the station were that, and that hadn't stopped Travis before. Wes, however, had been Travis' life continuously for seven years.

Metaphorically speaking, Travis life was sort of like a tunnel people went through on their own life paths. Not many people in Travis' life were with him continuously. Yeah, he had friends, but they're not exactly frequently in his life, and he connects with his family as much as he can. It's just a lot of passing through, but Wes is there. Like his car, god forbid, broke down in the Life Tunnel of Travis Marks and he can't fix it, so he's stuck there. So maybe that's why Travis was in love with Wes.

Or maybe it was all of the stupid little things that captured Travis' heart. Like how Wes could cook and how recoils barely broke his stance. Even how he could just know something was wrong, or when he lawyered someone so hard. Or maybe it was just a bunch of crap and Travis can't stick a pin in one. But knowing why wasn't going to change the fact that Travis had a crush, for a lack of a better word, on his partner.

He carried this fact for years after it. Wes was married to Alex at the time and they were happy for the most part. However they were standing on rocking ground as it was then, and then Wes was slammed by the divorce. Travis was smart and didn't say anything during that, Paecman was constantly peacekeeping because little things were ticking Wes off. Then there was no Paecman, and then gun pulling and therapy.

However, they were in a better place now, and Travis couldn't help but find himself working up the courage in the morning. Today was always the day in the morning, but at the end it would be tomorrow. There were countless reasons to the delay. Travis freezes and runs to a woman who won't have any attachment to him come morning. Or Wes had a bad day. Or Travis basically become an awkward thirteen year old who was attempting not to hyperventilate as his courage left him for another day and time and the object of his affection just asks if he was alright.

But the day he was going to tell Wes or God help him he was going to go crazy, his opportunity was shot. _Literally_.

The victim wasn't a victim and decided Wes didn't need a liver, or a lung, or a functioning body. Travis just heard the clattering caused by Wes' body being thrown into some table, but at the time he didn't know what it was. But then there was a call over the radio. "Officer down, we need an ambulance stat for Detective Mitchell," and from there it all blurred. It cleared up as he helplessly watched the hospital staff rush through the swinging doors that lead to the operation room.

Just Travis' luck, Wes' managed to fix his life car, and he was about to leave Travis without knowing Travis' affections. That was just going to break Travis.

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_Warning: Chapter are short for this story, averaging at about maybe a page on a word doc. _

_I hope you enjoyed and look out for this story! I have no clue when I'm updating._


	2. Two in Waiting

_Here is the second chapter (which means I finished another part of the story). It's slightly longer than the first. Still have no ideas if or when the updates will be constant._

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Alex appeared at the hospital three hours after the hospital staff disappeared with Wes. Somehow Travis spotted her in her frantic rush to find out why she was called by the hospital, and she spotted him on her way to the front desk. She came trotting over. "Travis, what's going on?" Alex asked. "My assistant said the hospital called for me, but they wouldn't tell her what it was about."

Travis just looked at her, because Alex is a brilliant woman, and she can read Travis like a book sometimes. His blue eyes watched the realization and dread sink in. Her fears of Wes getting shot on the job had just come true.

"How bad is it?"

Travis shrugged, not trusting himself to speak yet, he knew it was bad, he just didn't know _how_ bad. His mind flashes back to the scene. The amount of blood and how limp Wes was, made Travis' stomach churn. He had seen worse, and there will always be worse out there. It was simply because it was Wes, his partner. Cops don't get over things happening to them or their partners very well.

Alex sank down into the seat next to him. A small exhale on her lips. "How long has he been in there?"

Travis simply holds up three fingers, and watched as Alex covered her mouth. Travis was thankful she could figure out his message from just a number.

"Have they contacted any of his family?" Alex asked and Travis can only shrug. "What about you?" Travis can only shake his head.

Wes never talked about his family much; his switch from lawyer to cop had ruined most of his relationship with them. Travis knew Wes didn't have the best family relations, so he never asked for any way to contact them. Thinking about it, it seemed unfair, Wes had a decent number for Travis foster family members in his phone and Travis had nothing for Wes.

Alex sighed and fished out her phone from her purse. She pressed a button and put the phone to her ear. She walked off with a smile on her face and the words "Hi, Mary, it's Alex," on her lips.

Her conversation grew further away from Travis as she walked off. Travis can only run a hand through his hair and hang his head. He feels completely helpless, and he really was. He didn't have any way of calling Wes' family, and he sure as hell wasn't a doctor who could save Wes. Sutton didn't want him back in the station, or anywhere near Wes' shooter. If Wes didn't make it, it was probably the best idea.

Alex returned with what looked like a major weight was on her shoulders. She sat down with a heavy sigh, causing Travis to look at her.

"Mary wants me to call her back when we know something." Alex said, "She'd rather be with her friends than wait around in a hospital lobby." Alex shook her head.

A silence sat on them for a while. Minutes ticked past as they let the reality of an occupational hazard sit on them. Alex breaks the silence without using words. She simply placed a comforting hand on Travis' arm and gave him a soft smile when he turned. She knew it was affecting Travis more than it was her, she always knew when things got to either of them more.

She rubbed her thumb against his skin in a comforting manner. "Are you alright, Travis?"

It's always easy to lie, but in this situation it would be clear he was lying, but Alex wouldn't press. Still he's not in the least bit okay. The man he loves has no clue he loves him and he could possibly never leave the hospital without a heartbeat. That though was enough to break Travis if he wasn't careful. As much as Travis complains about Wes bottling every little thing up, he does the same thing sometimes.

"No," Travis admitted softly.

Alex nodded and worked out a shaking smile. "I'm not completely alright either."

She hugged him then, wrapped her arms around him, a comforting, friendly hug, which Travis returned lightly. They stayed like that, and as time stretched on Travis started losing control on his close guarded emotional turmoil. He broke down slightly, and Alex seemed to understand, because she quietly tried to ease it all away. But it didn't change anything.

Wes could do a lot of things to Travis, but he was about to do the one thing Travis can't handle, leave him.

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_Just more hospital waiting around._

_So I picture Wes keeping Alex as an emergency contact simply because he doesn't have many, and his family relations are not the best and he doesn't want to bother them or deal with the "I told you so" factor. I picture him telling Alex he would keep her on the list but she would just be lower, and Travis would be is first, even though Travis would be there if anything happened to him. I wanted to put that in the chapter but I had no idea how to word it._

_Any way hope you enjoyed this. Thanks for reading._


	3. Between Life and Death

_Why the heck are you saying my fanfic is sort than it really is FFN! I know for a fact that this chapter is 1,057 words without this little comment in the front of it. So I don't know what FFN is talking about when it says this story is like 600 words, because it's way more!_

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It was around seven thirty when a doctor emerged from the door looking for them. Sutton had joined the ground at around four in the afternoon, after everything had been squared away and all that was left was paperwork and Wes' statement…if they could get one. The doctor looked exhausted, but not like he was carrying around the news everyone dreaded to hear. It didn't matter to Travis he was just happy to see him.

He greeted them all with a tired smile. Something that wasn't overly optimistic or dreading, just flat out exhausted. "Mr. Mitchell is…stable." The doctor said with a bit of a pause. "The shooter clearly wasn't too aware of the inter anatomy and managed to miss Mr. Mitchells liver and his vest saved his lung from being severely damaged." The doctor paused as everyone took a breath of relief, but his pause translated as looming bad news. "However, Mr. Mitchells head injury is rather server, he's slipped into a coma. It's up to him to pull through now." It was good news, but it wasn't great news.

The doctor informed them about how they were moving Wes to another room and once the nurses had him settled, they would come for them. He left with the weighted "thank you"s from the three of them. They all let the reality of everything settle around them.

Wes wasn't dead, but he was in a coma. It wasn't the ideal outcome of the situation; no ideal was Wes being completely healed, which wasn't exactly possible. He was alive, but he wasn't there, and only God knew if he was in the slightest bit aware of the fact that people would be there with him.

Alex gave a shuttering sigh before pulling out her phone. "I'll call Mary," she said softly and walked off dialing the number for Wes' mother.

Travis could only nod before he fell back in his seat. Sutton patted him on a back attempting to be a bit more comforting.

"Wes will pull through." Sutton said optimistically.

"You don't know that." Travis snapped a bit annoyed.

"He's in a coma, half way to being alive and walking around."

Travis just stared.

"Wes is too stubborn."

Travis looked up at him, and rolled his eyes when he realized it was therapy talking. Thinking positive seemed to be the only escape from the horrible fact that they would be playing the most worry filled waiting game the world had ever seen.

"You're right, he is too stubborn." Travis said with a weak smile. However if Wes did die, Travis was seriously going to find some way to kill him on his own.

Alex returned slightly shaken and caught in the dread. She sighed and sat down next to Travis, reclining in the chair. "Mary said she'll be here in the morning. Girls week has her away, and she'd rather take the drive well rested." She glanced at her watch. "I'll see Wes once he's settled, but I need to get back to the office and pick up some files after that."

"That's understandable." Sutton said with a smile at Alex.

With that they waited for a nurse to come and take them to Wes. Silently preparing for the sight of Wes motionless, almost dead like, and hooked up to about twenty different machines. It was a sight Travis hoped was better than he imagined it to be. Wes would look more like he was sleeping, because looking half-dead might have nightmares keeping Travis up at night. He had already lost a descent amount of sleep due to the fantasies of Wes that curled up in his head at night. He did not need nightmares of Wes dying.

A nurse surfaced about twenty minutes later. She was a cute little woman, dark brown hair and green eyes that just popped. She was someone Travis would take home had his courage to confess to Wes fleeted. Travis, however, isn't feeling it. Wes was in a coma, even if Travis wasn't in love with the man, he would not flirt with his nurse. The woman led them to a single room; leave it to Wes to manage to land a nice place while he was under. She left them with a smile and comment about staying as long as they wished and the possibility that Wes might actually hear them. Basically she gave them the talk she probably gave all the families and friends of coma patients.

Alex was the first to enter the room, carefully walking around the hospital bed to Wes' left side. Travis found her to be a nice distraction from the white bandages, wires, and tubes that covered Wes. They were keeping him alive, and they let the world know he was alive. The rise and fall of the blonde man's chest was barely visible, and sadly for Travis, it did not look like he was Sleeping Beauty or anything.

Travis settled at the foot of the bed, staring at Wes full on like he would just pop awake. However he found himself watching Alex's hand as she pet Wes' hair. "Oh, Wes," She leaned down and placed a light kiss on his forehead, done in a more sisterly fashion that an ex-wife. She turned to Travis and gave a weak smile. "I should get going, please, keep me updated." She said as she walked towards the door.

"Yeah, of course." Travis said slowly, still looking a Wes. He could not be that still, it wasn't allowed in Travis rule book.

"You should probably be heading home too, Travis." Sutton said, startling Travis a bit more than he would like to admit. "You've been here all day, and I'm sure Wes appreciates it, but go home, change, get some rest." Sutton paused as Travis looked at him like he was a crazy. The older man rolled his eyes. "The least you could do is pack a bag and change."

Travis was about to object when he got a silencing hand and a hard look.

"No objections, I'll stay with him till you get back."

"Thanks Cap."

"Yeah, yeah, just go." Sutton said shooing him, and Travis hurried to the door and towards the parking lot. And even is Wes might kill him later, his car was the only ride Travis had at the time.

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_Another chapter is up! I hope you all liked it! I don't know what else to say here! Hope you enjoyed it._

_Please review because I like seeing them in my email! (Wow, I sound like some loner)_


	4. Meet the Mother

_Sorry for the delay everyone! I've been busy with school and life. But now I'm back to focusing on this and attempting to draft out an AU for Common Law cause I have no life outside of this fandom sometimes._

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Hospital coffee isn't exactly five star coffee, but the station's coffee isn't exactly either. Travis had had worse as well, so he could deal with it. Their breakfast wasn't all that amazing, but Travis wasn't going to complain. After pouring a large amount of sugar that would have Wes questioning how in the world he wasn't diabetic, into his cup, Travis headed back to Wes' room.

Sipping his coffee he made his way done the somewhat empty hallways. It was early and despite some nurses making their rounds, there was hardly anyone in the hallways. Travis didn't mind yawning in an empty hallway. He hadn't slept the best. His worry had Travis waking up at every little beep that was abnormal. Besides the chair he slept in wasn't comfortable and he kept waking up to get comfortable. No amount of rearranging himself on the chair or stretching proved to be comfortable.

He reached Wes' room quickly, entering the room with yet another annoying yawn. Damn, hospital coffee was not as strong as the coffee back at the station. He glanced at Wes as he made his way to the chair he had sleep in, Wes didn't look any different from when he lelt him. Still in covered in wires and tubes, and too still to be simply asleep.

With a sigh, Travis collected some clean clothes he stuffed in his bag. He fished out his toothbrush and razor from his bag as well. Taking one last gulp of coffee before he placed it on the window sill and headed into the bathroom.

When he emerged, toothbrush in mouth and shirt half on, he was startled by the older woman in the room. She seemed to be as well. They stared at each other briefly before Travis slowly inched back into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He quickly finished getting ready for the day, and attempted to look slightly more presentable rather than startled and rushed.

He exited the bathroom and shoved his stuff back into his bag, he would fix it later. Turning around, he grinned at the older woman who was looking at him from her seat by Wes' bed. She looked slightly familiar, but from where Travis couldn't exactly place. She had blonde hair, a shade or two lighter than Wes', though it looked like she was covering up greys rather than that being her natural color. Her eyes were a slightly more green color than blue. Travis noticed her hand was absently petting at Wes' arm. It was almost in a motherly fashion. And then it clicked for Travis.

Wes didn't talk about his family much, mostly due to the rocky ground they were on since his switch, and Travis had never really meet anyone either. However, Travis had seen old family photos in Wes' old house. The woman's face was definitely that of Wes' mother, despite some aging. Mary Mitchell had finally made her appearance, despite the early hour.

"Mrs. Mitchell?" Travis asked politely, not sure why he was feeling like some teenager meeting his significant other's family for the first time. Technically it was their first time meeting, but Wes was unaware of the feelings his partner had for him.

"Yes," She said with a nod, her eyes flickering up and down Travis presence in a judging manner. "May I ask who you are?"

"Travis Marks." Travis said after a bit of a pause, because honestly he was a little shocked she didn't know. "I'm Wes' partner." Travis said jumping into action and holding out his hand for her to shake. "Sorry about earlier, I wasn't expecting anyone to be here."

Mary stood from her chair and took Travis' hand lightly. "I was wondering if I was ever going to meet you." She said with a small grin. "From what Alex and Wes had said about you, I can't say I haven't wanted to meet you."

Travis just smiles in the place of saying "I hope they were all good things," because knowing Wes it was every little thing Travis did to annoy him. Wes is so truthful sometimes it hurts, but that was Wes.

An awkwardness sat on them after that. There wasn't much to talk about. Mary sat back down in her chair and went back to petting Wes' arm again after Travis let her hand go. Travis tittered back to his back in the corner of the room. Figuring he would pack it up nicely and hopefully think of something to do within the hospital to give Mary some time with Wes, because that was respectful.

"Were you there?" Mary asked as Travis finished repacking his bag. He made a confused sound and turned to look at her. "Were you there when he was shot?" She repeated.

Travis didn't answer for a second. "I was in the area," Travis admitted slowly, still finding it hard to thinking that it all happened yesterday. "However, I wasn't there when it happened."

He looked at the ground. He wished he had been there from the moment he saw Amy ripping off Wes' vest while a uniform was pinning the 'victim' to the ground. They had split, the 'victim' was being clingy, and had a better hold on Wes than they did on Travis. It wasn't like Wes was alone either, it was a Task Force, police were crawling all over the place, and someone would be there in a matter of second. Besides they didn't know the victim was working with their target till two bullets found their way into Wes' body. So Travis left, and he regretted it more and more as he thought about it.

Mary made a sound, but thankfully she didn't push for details. The awkwardness settled on them again and Mary ran her hand along the length of Wes' arm.

"It's weird, whenever I imagined Wes getting hurt, it was never anything thing like this." She said slowly, looking at Wes in the way only a mother really could. "It was always something small, something he would take pain killers for and move on with his life. That or it was so extreme that there was no suffering on his part. He was just gone in the blink of an eye." Travis wasn't sure if Mary was exactly talking to him or not, but he stayed in the room staring at her. She turned to Travis, "I know our relationship isn't the best, but I could never picture something like this."

Then she was crying, curling in on herself and sobbing. Travis is by her side quickly, because for some reason he feels like he understands. He comforted her till she calmed down enough agree to go with him to get something to drink.

A cup of tea later, Travis is familiar enough with Mary Mitchell to be considered a friend, and he has her number in his phone.

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_So yeah, Travis meet Wes' mother in this chapter. I don't ever really get his father involved at all in this story, so I'm just going to say he's dead or something cause I don't think I could add another character into the whole thing._

_R and R please!_


	5. Therapy Group

_This chapter is a bit fat filler chapter that I hate so...yeah_

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Travis had figured he was free of therapy until Wes woke up. He had figured Sutton had called Dr. Ryan about Wes as soon as he could. He figured Dr. Ryan would explain to the group in as much detail as she felt fit and let each person handle it as they wished. He had figured some people would come maybe to simply see or offer 'Get Well Soon' merchandize. However he didn't expect practically every couple to come filing at some point after Dr. Ryan had informed them.

Peter and Dakota were the first, which wasn't too surprising. Travis remembered Peter mentioning he was a nurse at the hospital, taking care of mostly children in his time there. He had seen Peter around in the cafeteria or hurrying down a hall. They shared a small wave if they noticed each other, but Peter never asked why Travis was there. Besides, they were the couple Travis figured would come any way.

They came in with flowers and a cute stuffed bear, which Dakota tucked in next to Wes. Dakota had made cookies to help cheer Travis up. They stayed for ten minutes, chattering and being friendly and expressing the fact that they really hoped Wes would wake up soon. They left when Peter got paged and had to leave, and Dakota didn't see the point in sticking around because she really didn't know Wes.

The Dumonts came second. They stood more outside of the room than anything. They figured it was slightly more respectful because Wes wasn't exactly someone close to them. They watched from the window while the talked with Travis. They didn't bring anything, but their company was nice for Travis. Grace mentioned she had wanted to come sooner, but their schedules hadn't allowed it. They left after talking with Travis for a half hour.

Clyde and Rozelle come a few hours after the Dumonts left. Rozelle had convinced Clyde into buying some flowers and a card, because it was the nice thing to do. They entered the room and hung around at the foot of Wes' bed, because again, Wes was just a guy from their therapy group they sort of half knew. Still that didn't mean they wouldn't react to him getting shot and slipping into a coma. They left as Alex swung by for a visit. Travis saw them out, laughing as they questioned who Alex was.

Dr. Ryan came the next day. Travis had always figured that she would come rolling in eventually. It was more to check on Travis than Wes, which was again something Travis had expected. She entered the room with a small smile, causing Travis to look up from the case file. "Good morning Travis…" She paused for a moment, "Wes." She said, turning to Wes who didn't move an inch.

"Morning," Travis said with a small wave of his fingers.

"How is everything going?"

Travis glanced at Wes for a brief second. "Nothing has changed." Travis said with a shrug.

Dr. Ryan made a sound.

"It is neither good news nor bad news."

"How are you handling it?" Dr. Ryan asked.

"Fine," Travis said curtly, before he shifted awkwardly under the silence that fell on them.

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_As much as I hate this chapter I did have to squeeze the therapy group in there for reasons...Please R and R_


	6. Sleeping Beauty

_Sadly Common Law is canceled (-grumbles about it to self-), but I have good news. I've officially finished writing this story out completely, so the updates should be more frequent. Also I'm starting another story, an AU to be exact. So look out for that, I'll probably be posting it when I get about three chapters in and then start posting whenever I finish a chapter._

_Anyway, hope you enjoy reading this.  
_

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The clattering in the kitchen startled Travis awake, honestly, if a pan clattering on the floor didn't wake someone up, he didn't know what would. He flies out of bed, turning back to see if his bedmate is even there. The sheets are neatly shoved aside, and not thrown like Travis', which causes him to relax. Good, he wasn't getting robbed; he's just being cooked breakfast by someone half awake.

Shaking his head, he headed out the bedroom door. He's greeted by the sight of Wes with his hair in twenty different directions inspecting a pan that he probably dropped or pushed over. Travis can't help but smile as he walked into the kitchen, the sound of the coffee machine sputtering its greeting and Wes' wake up call.

He took the pan from Wes hand, happy he didn't put up a fight about it. He placed it on the counter before turning back to Wes who was still staring where the pan was. Rolling his eyes, Travis suppressed a chuckle at how adorable Wes was.

"Morning baby," Travis said gently, opening the cabinet to get two coffee mugs out. He got no response from Wes. "Wes." He called, having a feeling Wes was still staring where the pan once was, or he realized it was magically gone and his brain was slowly finding reasons why that might be. Travis turned, and Wes was still staring. "Wes!" Travis said with a bit more force. That scared Wes right out of his zoning, and he turned to Travis, still looking half asleep and caffeine hungry. "Morning."

"Morning." Wes said with sloppy grin. Travis can't be sure if it was because of him or the fact that the smell of coffee was filling the room.

It didn't matter for long, because Travis placed two mugs on the counter and scooped Wes up into his arms. Despite being out of it, Wes still manages to kiss him as if he was wide awake and just yelling at Travis. He pushes his partner up against the opposing counter, praying the coffee doesn't finish for a few more minutes, because after that, that's all Wes will want.

_Grank-BOOM!_

The lights come to life as a loud clap of thunder shook at the hospital windows and woke Travis. He woke with a confused gasp, quickly taking in his surrounds, grasping for any bit of reality. When he came to understand where he was he untangled himself from his odd sleeping position. He leaned forward in the seat, burying his face in his hands.

He felt like crying a bit. Leave it to his brain to taunt him with fantasies of Wes while he was lying on a hospital bed in a coma a few yards away from him. It wasn't even a sexual one, which Travis can't decide if that would be better or worse, but the domestic life ones he had with only Wes. Dreams where they lived together, where Wes cooks dinner every night, and they did odd couple things. Dreams where they're just simply lying in bed cuddling, or Travis is watching Wes sleep away the day. Where they were simply there for each other more than any friend or coworker should be.

They were fantasies about life with Wes that Travis would hate to admit he had. It had felt dirty when Wes was married, but they hadn't been as frequent as when his divorce was finalized. Still it wasn't something he was ready to broadcast to Wes any time soon.

With a sigh, Travis got up from his seat, walking over to the hospital bed. He shoved his hands into his pockets, wishing it would all be easier, or Wes would just wake up. Travis could handle the possibility of memory loss, and he could handle anything that meant Wes would be alive. However, the pale man just had to open his eyes and be conscious.

"Even when you're in a coma you still managed to get to me." Travis said slightly. He poked at Wes' head to express some of his annoyance. Wes didn't move like usual. "Man all you got to do is wake up, is it that hard?"

Apparently it was, seeing as how the doctors still don't know if Wes will ever wake up. Travis groaned at the lack of response, crossing his arms in a bit of a pout.

"Okay, get your beauty sleep, Sleeping Beauty." Travis whispered in a teasing tone as he leaned down and placed a small kiss on Wes' forehead. It was the first real physical affection Travis had given Wes aside for the normal partner forms. He pulled away, with a bit of a sad smile on his face. "I'm not exactly a prince, but wake up for me soon." He paused for a second, realization of the fact that Wes might actually hear this and remember it. "If you die on me I'm going to climb up to where ever the hell you end up and drag you back here and shot you myself."

With that he turned on his heels, feeling a bit more satisfied with the fact that his secret partner crush is still somewhat a secret partner crush. He curled up in the chair again, fall asleep to a lullaby of the steady beat of the heart monitor and a departing thunder storm.

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_Beginning of the chapter is a dream incase anyone didn't notice. I'm just cruel like that.  
_

_I wanted to play off Sleeping Beauty so freaking bad in this chapter, just because Wes is freaking Sleeping Beauty and Travis needs to kiss him to wake up. Nio, I'm kidding that's a lie, but seriously.  
_

_Hope you enjoy it. Please Read and Reply  
_


	7. The World Keeps Turning

_More filler, and I finished another chapter of my new AU. I have a feeling the beginning is going to suck so bad. One more chapter and I'll consider starting to upload it! -excited-_

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Travis hated desk duty, emphasis on the hate. There wasn't really a cop who looked forward to it. It's a necessary and while Travis will do it, especially when the chance of a call can have him shoving it on to someone else. However he does not like being the one it's shoved onto. Sutton however gave him desk duty till Wes woke up.

Part of Travis felt like he was going to be condemned to desk duty for the rest of his life. However he knew that wasn't true; Sutton could only have him still for so long. If time progresses and Wes is still in a coma, Travis will get a temporary partner, and should it go on longer, a new partner.

Luckily, Sutton agreed to play it all by ear and roll with what they can. After all, Wes had only been out for a week, and his shooter was for the most part dealt with. Travis is just happy Sutton is allowing him to work on Task Forces if they need him. God knew Travis would go stir crazy if everyone could go running off and he couldn't while not being wounded.

Work was a nice distraction form the reality of Wes in a hospital bed. His empty desk was a reminder, but it didn't take him back to the hospital room or the abandoned warehouse where Wes was shot, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Granted he still sleeps in Wes' hospital room, because in the week of stay by Wes' side had made falling asleep without the sounds of beeps and muttered footsteps in the middle of the night became harder than Travis thought.

"How's Wes?" Kendall asked leaning slightly against Travis' desk with her sweet smile on her face.

Travis looked up from his work, happy for the break. He was asked that questioned a few times a day by different groups of people, and for most of them he glared. Not a lot of people genially cared about Wes and his condition; they just felt like they had to ask.

Still Randi had stopped by with Hudson, and Jonelle threatening him with a scalp, she made it clear that if Wes ended up on her table there would be two bodies to follow. Travis had heard she threatened the person who shot Wes. Well, not threatened exactly, more like scared them shitless and ultimately got them to give away their partners location. Kate and Amy cared because, they had worked with Wes and him enough to know that Wes isn't a terrible person when people get to know him. They covered for Travis when the day dragged on longer than he was expecting.

Kendall is genially worried about Wes, cause she had swung by and kept Travis company when she could or felt up for it. Travis spared her a smile. "He's still in a coma." Travis said with a nod. "The doctors expect his wounds to heal nicely."

"But they don't when he'll wake up?" Kendall asked lightly, biting her bottom lip at the question.

"I've been told enough to know that they don't know _if _he'll wake up." Travis said with a sigh, he had said it enough times that he himself felt like an expert on head inquires. "Every head injury is different, and every person's body handles it differently. Blah, blah, blah."

"So basically, nothing's changed." Kendall said with sigh.

"Nothing anyone can notice." Travis said.

Kendall gave him a pat on the shoulder and a small pat. "He'll pull through." She said optimistically as she walked away.

"If he doesn't I'm gonna kill him." Travis said with a playful smile, causing Kendall to turn around and let out a small laugh.

"Both you and Jonelle." Kendall said before hurrying of back to her desk.

Travis chuckled as he turned back to his paper work. He snuck a peek at Wes' empty desk, reaching for his stapler. With a grin, Travis stapled some papers, happy Wes wasn't there to bitch. He eased it back into place and turned back to his paper work.

* * *

_So yeah, I thought I'd throw some Kendall in there, as well as some Kate, Amy, Randi, and Jonelle. Just cause I think they would be nice to have in the story, as well as help give people an update to Wes condition. Also I sent Travis back to work because lets be honest at some point he would get feed up with the fact that he's stuck at the hospital all day with a comatose Wes. There is no communication, besides he's still an able body.  
_

_I'm loving all the reviews about how you all want Wes to wake up. LOL Please keep me sending them to me I love them.__  
_


	8. The Call

_I FINISHED ANOTHER CHAPTER OF MY SERIAL KILLER!WES AU! This means I might post it soon (most likely later tonight because I have to think of a fucking title!). So there is excitement there, and my birthday is in a few days, so trying to get some work done before that happens._

_Other than that, short chapter!  
_

* * *

"_Hello, is this Travis Marks?_" A woman on the other end of the line said after Travis picked up his phone.

"Yes," Travis said biting back the urge to question how he could help her. He didn't recognize the number, but he's given his number away enough for it to have traveled to people he didn't remember. Sometimes he wished he had just had the courage to just tell Wes he was in love with him. "Can I ask what this is about?"

"_I'm Stacey from the hospital,_" The woman said and the world stops around Travis. He makes a sound for her to continue. "_You're one of Mr. Mitchell's emergency contacts should anything happen._" Travis bit back the urge to shout at her to just get to the point. "_Mr. Mitchell's been moved to ICU about ten minutes ago._"

"WHAT?!" Travis honestly didn't mean to be so loud. However his blood was ran cold and he didn't notice the whole station still at his outburst.

"_I'm sorry I don't know any details._" Stacey said and she genuinely sounded sorry.

"No, its…uh…fine." Travis said scratching his head a bit and glancing at his watch. He knew he could run out and explain to Sutton later. He sighed.

"_Mr. Mitchell's mother is here,_" Oh good lord, it almost felt like salt to the wound. "_I don't know if anyone has or is talking with her."_

Travis couldn't take it anymore. He glance at his clock, knowing if he left now he could be in the hospital in ten minutes flat and that was if he decided to drive in a rather legal way. Hopefully Wes wouldn't die in those ten minutes. Travis quickly got to his feet, grabbing his things, feeling a few eyes on him as he did so.

"I'm heading over there now, um, thank you for calling." Travis said politely before he ended the call and stuffed the phone in his pocket.

He held his keys in his mouth as he pulled his jacket it on, making his way to the exit of the bullpen. Kate come striding up next to him, Travis didn't spare her a look. Her persistence to keep up with him as he makes his way to the elevator asked all the questions. Who was that? What's wrong? Where are you going? Things along those lines. Travis pressed the down button before he turned to her.

"Wes was just moved to ICU like ten minutes ago." Travis said quickly, to his joy, Kate doesn't freak out or press for details. "I don't know what the hell caused this, or if Wes is even fucking stable. Can you tell Sutton?"

Kate just nodded and turned around, rushing back to the doors of Robbery/Homicide. The elevator dings, and Travis hurried inside, pounding the button for the first floor. Why was everything so slow right now? But eventually he reaches the ground floor and eventually he gets to his motorcycle, and eventually he gets on the road. Then he's in the hospital, he almost runs over Alex who's just as panicked as he is. The two find Mary Mitchell, and to say she was a mess was an understatement.

The day she decided to visit for the whole day, Wes decides to flat line.

* * *

_I needed drama in the story, and this was all I can think of. I think we're reaching the part of the story where I was on and off writing it so it kind of starts to become more filler than anything else, but then it picks up again._

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review because they're fun to read.  
_


	9. Steady Readings

_Yeah, another update. I've been rather free this weekend and been pounding out my Serial Killer!Wes Au rather well, which surprised me as well. So there should be another chapter of that later today. Besides I left everyone at a rather mean cliffhangers, so here you all go._

* * *

The doctors don't have an exact reason why Wes' heart faulted. They have a number of possible reasons, but none of them are sure. It could have been a reaction to something new in his system, or a leak in a wound. Was it the lung? Was his brain just going crazy and shutting down? Was it a reaction to any new medication? What about this? What about that? Did there happen to be an underlying health issue? Maybe an unknown allergy? But in their searching they had found nothing to prove any theory correct, but they still ran tests like crazy.

It wasn't like he was or had been fluctuating between completely fine to almost dead. They were going to keep Wes in ICU, which meant short visits in the room and staring through a window, until they knew what happened and that Wes could be considered stable again.

Alex comforted Mary when the doctor's left; taking her to the cafeteria for a change of scenery and give her time to process what happened. Travis stayed by the window to Wes' room, hovering. He shivered at the fact that Wes practically died twice within two weeks. He had been in the ambulance the first time, but there it had made a bit more sense. Wes was bleeding all over the place, Travis had almost expected something like that to happen, he didn't wish it, but he wasn't surprised.

Travis was happy to see the steady readings on the screen, because for the moment Wes was stable enough for him to breathe. With a sigh, Travis walked to the bench across the hall, sitting down and holding his head in his hands. Sometimes Travis wished Wes wouldn't freak him out so much. Climbing over balconies, getting shot, and most off all actually dying, Travis was surprised he hasn't had a heart attack from Wes' stunts. Maybe because he didn't do them so often.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. His fished it out, glancing at the caller ID. He smiled, happy to Sutton was calling now and not when he was weaving through traffic or when the doctors were talking to them. He answered the phone.

"_How's it going?"_ Sutton asked hardly leaving room for Travis to get a greeting in if he wanted to. "_He stable?"_

"He's hearts not taking a break every five minutes, if that's what you're asking." Travis said rubbing his face. "However, the doctors don't know what caused the whole ordeal actually. They plan on keeping him in ICU till they can determine there is no problem or Wes doesn't just drop off randomly."

"_Well that's some sort of good news._" Sutton said. Travis could hear him moving some stuff around in his office. "_If you can, tell Wes I'm pissed at him for interrupting my meditation."_ Sutton said with a small chuckle.

"Will do Cap," Travis said with a bit of a smile.

"_Oh, and Travis, take the rest of the day off, I can't have you in a haze."_ Sutton said. "_Also take tomorrow off as well, I have a feeling you'll be sleeping on and off tonight."_

"Thanks Cap." Travis said just before the other end went to a dial tone.

He slid his phone back in his pocket, letting out a sigh. He stood from the bench, glancing at Wes once more through the window of his room. Nothing had changed and Travis figured he could join Alex and Mary. If anything drastic happened the hospital could always call him again.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, he started towards the cafeteria for some coffee.

* * *

_So I know I didn't exactly clear much up, but Wes isn't dead which should be enough. Stay with me please.  
_


	10. Why weren't you there?

_Sorry this took me a while go get up after I updated 72 Degrees Too Cold. I was got busy with stuff, and then I went to see Magic Mike. The only thing good about that movie was the dancing and Matt Bomer. Just saying..._

* * *

"Why weren't you there?" Mary asked suddenly.

Travis turned to her at the sudden question. He watched her fiddle with a golden chain around her neck, twisting and running the pendant that hung from it around. Her eyes were glued on Wes' figure on the bed, the steady, yet minimal, rise and fall of his chest, completely unmoving from her spot at the window. For a second she really looked like a mother from the medical dramas, who was genially torn by the fact that her child might not make it out. In reality she kind of was one of those mothers, but Wes' and her's relationship was not that of what it should be.

He made a sound of question, crossing his arms. "What do you mean?"

He had a reason for not being there when Wes suddenly decided to swing by heaven for a bit. He was working and finding a way to distract himself. It was probably a good thing Travis was nowhere near Wes when that happened, he can't say it would have been easy to get them out of the room.

"When Wesley was shot, why weren't you there?"

Oh. Travis swallowed and looked at his shoes. He knew very well why he wasn't there, but that didn't mean he didn't regret it like crazy. All the 'if only's and 'what if's clouded his head in an unpleasing manner when he would sit along with Wes and his coma.

"I mean, don't cops have to stay together?" Mary asked with a frustrated tone, her voice peeking in a way similar to Wes' when he got consumed by a growing anger or annoyance. "Isn't there like a rule for that or something."

"It was a Task Force," Travis supplied when Mary paused for a moment.

Her eyes flashed towards Travis. "You just left him with a man who was a psycho."

"We thought he was a victim," Travis said with some firmness.

Wes had given him the okay to move on, given him the okay to hunt down the killer and stop them. They didn't know the two were working together. _They didn't know_. However there was going to come a time when that excuse would stop working.

"Did you check for anything?"

"We thought he was a victim." Travis muttered again, lowly, sounding almost ashamed by the fact.

"Isn't it your job to have his back? You're his _partner_, right?" Mary asked and her voice is cold and angry.

Her words are nothing more than misplaced frustration. Travis had heard it thousands of times from grief-filled relatives or angry robbery victims. The angry words after simply questions, basically the finger pointing for things not done and why the world is so messed up. Still, Travis was surprised he didn't explode at her for the comment.

"What kind of partner leaves the oth—"

"He told me to go." Travis said firmly, cutting Mary off. His blue eyes fixed into a hard glare, but he kept his voice controlled, they were in a hospital after all. Mary looked at him completely caught off guard. "I've regretted leaving him since the moment I heard the call over the radio. But he told me to go ahead, and at the time it was good idea. I didn't want to go, but I did, because I had another job to do as well." He gripped at the sleeve of his shirt, still fighting back the need to just blurt everything out. "There isn't one thing more I want than for Wes to open his eyes and be completely fine."

Mary stared at him stunned.

"Mary, your son is the one thing in my life that has been the most constant." His eyes traveled to Wes through the window. "I've known him for seven years, and seen him mostly every day for five. Wes is the last person I would just up and leave."

A silence sat on them for a while, and it was filled with thick tension. Travis watches Wes' chest to the shallow rise and fall, the only part of his body that moved.

"Oh my god," Mary said breaking the silence. Her voice was no longer sharp, it was soft with a realization, and it caused Travis to turn back to her. Her eyes are darting around his face, like she might find something to prove what she was going to say next was wrong. "You're in love with him."

Travis looked at her dumbfounded by the statement. He hadn't meant to fall in love with Wes, but he did at some point without realizing it. Travis can only nod at her slowly, unsure of how she'll react. Judging by the sound of her voice she didn't seem bothered by the fact.

"Does he know?" She asked lightly.

Travis shook his head. As much as he wished it, his courage hadn't been there to tell Wes before the shots were fired. "I don't know if he'll ever know." Travis said with a shrug and Mary gave him a sad smile.

She took hold of his hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I hope he does." She said. She stayed the whole night with him.

* * *

_So not the progress everyone is wanting, but you know got to draw it out and make it dramatic. I'm an evil writer like that.  
_


	11. Haunting

_Another update that took forever to get up because I finished the other chapter awhile ago..._

* * *

"Stop staring, it's rude."

Travis smiled to himself, but he didn't stop his staring. He liked staring at Wes when he was working on something. Travis enjoyed the way his eyebrows slightly came together, or how he would twist the pen in his hand as he read something, or hold it in his mouth as he thought about something. Or the face Wes would make when there was something he couldn't piece together or didn't fit. Wes could look over a file millions of times and still be able to find something that didn't add up correctly to him, and sometimes it wasn't always the same thing. He also liked the way Wes knew he was staring at him without the slightest tilt of his head.

"I'm serious Travis." Wes said as he flipped a page in the case folder.

"I can't help it." Travis said, resting his chin on the back of the couch, his smile getting wider. "You're so beautiful when you're focused."

"You do remember I have a gun."

"Yeah, in the bedroom with mine."

Wes looked up from the folder and glared and Travis didn't hide his laughter. Travis got up off the couch, making his way to Wes at the counter. Wes watched him before rolling his eyes and turning back to the case folder, ignoring Travis as he approached.

Travis wrapped his arms around Wes' waist and torso from behind, dipping his head to so he could kiss the back of his neck. "Haven't you worked enough today?"

"Well seeing as how—ah—we still don't have a suspect in custody, I don't think so." Wes said in reply, shivering a bit as Travis lightly bit at the side of his neck. Travis really knew how to unwind Wes completely.

"Come watch TV with me." Travis muttered against Wes' skin. He smiled as he could feel Wes trying to fight the fact that he was going to give in eventually.

"Travis, I have—" Travis rolled his eyes, moving to the side suddenly. He knew Wes felt him move and knew what that move meant. "Travis, put me down!" However he can't act or speak quickly enough.

Travis just laughed as he easily lifted Wes out of the chair and carried him over to the couch. Wes fought a bit, but he eventually started chuckling, and he had smile when on his face when Travis dumped him on the couch. Travis pounced on him, attacking his neck and working the buttons of his shirt, working hard to expose Wes' chest, the television completely forgotten in the back ground. Wes doesn't battle back any moans or gasps, and his hands are in Travis' hair.

Running his hand down Wes' exposed chest, Travis smiles as Wes arches to his touch a bit. However, then his fingers ran into something warm and wet. Travis pulled back in confusion, bringing his hand into view.

Wes noticed him stop. "What's wrong, Cabbage Patch?" Wes asked with concern in his voice as Travis pulled away from him completely, staring at his hand.

"You're bleeding…" Travis said slowly, looking Wes over and finding the blood pooling out from a hole just above Wes' hip bone.

"No I'm not." Wes said sitting up, and Travis just showed him his hand.

He watched Wes look down as another hole suddenly appeared on the left side of his chest. Wes lightly touched the blood pouring out of him with complete confusion. He looked at Travis before wires and tubes come shooting out of everything and wrapped tightly around him. Then in a flash, Wes was ripped away from the reality around Travis.

Travis woke up with a gasp, sitting up sharply, turning sharply to the sound of a clipboard chattering on the floor. He found a nurse looking at him with wide eyes and hand over her heart. Travis gave her an apologetic smile and a small wave. She smiled at him and collected the clip board from the ground.

"Bad dream?" She asked lightly as she placed the clipboard at the end of the bed. She didn't wait for an answer from him, just flashed him a kind smile and left the room.

Travis let out a sigh, leaning back on the couch he was sleeping on. "Bad dream doesn't even begin to describe it." He said, burying his fact in his arm. "Nightmare doesn't even begin to describe it."

* * *

_More dreams because I'm mean and I think I wrote this like months ago... I apologize_


	12. When the Phone Rings

_I know this isn't the usual updating cycle, but I was visiting family so deal with it!_

* * *

Travis was staying late at work, trying to distance himself from Wes and the hospital. The staff had expressed way too much concern with his health over his constant presence by Wes. Clearly it wasn't making Wes walk up any faster, and Travis still has yet to get comfortable in the chair he usually slept in. Travis still goes to the hospital and sleeps in Wes' room about four times a week and visits him daily. Still home isn't a distraction and work is losing its ability to keep him distracted.

It only took one look at Wesley's empty desk and then he's reminded by the fact for the next twenty minutes. Or someone will ask him something about Wes. Or he'll realize how quiet his life is without Wes in it. The station is always busy, there was going to be someone typing and clicking in a way that made Travis feel like he was in some sort of action movie. There was always going to be phones ringing and people talking to them.

Wes' keyboard was silent of his typing skills that put most of the detectives to shame. It was silent from the little pauses he did when he was thinking about what to put and start lightly tapping at some keys with his pinkies in thought. There was no paper flipping either, or even just the sound of Wes moving some papers around, the lack of grumbles Wes made to himself were absent as well. Travis didn't realize Wes straightening the things on his desk was some noise he missed.

Most of all Wes' phone was dead. Travis didn't realize how much Wes was actually called by people. The rings and Wes picking it up seemed countless when Travis thought about it. There wasn't a day Travis could think of where Wes didn't get called by someone and he wasn't scribbling something down as he shifted to hang it up.

_Ring, ring._

Travis looked up from him computer screen. The sound of the ringing was closer than other's in the station, and most of the day shift had straggled on home. A flickering light caught his eye and he turned to look over at Wes' phone as it produced another ring. Travis raised an eyebrow at the phone as he sprang up to answer it. The phone hadn't rung in a little over month, and Travis is curious as to who was calling directly to Wes' work phone.

"Robbery/Homicide, Detective Travis Marks," Travis answered in a business like tone that he knew would have Wes impressed.

"_Sorry, must have dialed the wrong number."_ A male voice said on the other line, the confusion in his voice told Travis he was looking down at something. "_Can you redirect me to Wesley Mitchell, please?"_

"This is his phone, but Wes isn't in." Travis informed, trying to figure out who could possibly be calling for Wes and using his work phone. Wes was always handing out business cards, but they always for a case and most people didn't really use them. Besides Wes hadn't handed any out for a little over a month.

"_Where is he then? He's not answering his cell phone."_ The man questions on the other side on the other side of the line.

Travis is silent for a second. "Wes is in the hospital, he's been in a coma for the past month."

"_Fuck!"_ The man cursed, and Travis heard him sigh. "_Really? Good God!_ _That would explain why none of my staff has seen him for a month."_ It clicks for Travis who was on the other line. "_I'm Rob by the way, I—"_

"You own the hotel Wes currently calls home, I know." Travis said with a bit of a grin. Rob made a sound on the other end. "Can I ask why you're calling?"

"_I hadn't heard anything from Wes in the last couple weeks, and none of the staff has seen him for a little more than a month." _ Rob made a sound like he was snorting. "_I thought he found a place to live and forgot to tell me or something, but he stuff was still in his room. Thought I try to reach him to figure out what the fuck was going on."_

"Yeah, his coma sort of makes it hard for him to talk to people." Travis said lightly.

"_Do the doctors have an idea on when he'll wake up?"_

"Not a clue."

"_Do they think he'll ever wake up?"_

"Fifty-fifty."

Rob made a sound of thought. "_Well that doesn't help the situation."_ Rob said, and Travis could hear some clicking in the background. "_If they had an idea, I would just move his stuff into storage and have the room open to other guests. However, if they don't know when or _if_ he'll wake up I sort of have to kick him out."_

Travis bit his lip, Wes was not going to be happy about that, but at the same time he can picture Wes just shrugging it off as business as well. A silence sat on the line, Rob broke it by sighing.

"_It seems low, evicting a coma patient from his current home."_ Rob said awkwardly with a half laugh.

"Wes would understand." Travis said half-heartily, because Wes would be one to understand. Besides it wasn't like he didn't have a place to go, Travis had no problem opening his doors to Wes if and when he woke up. Hell, Alex probably would open her doors as well without a care in the world. "I can swing by his room and collect his things on Saturday. If that's okay with you."

"_Who'd you say you were again?"_ Rob asked.

"Travis Marks, I'm Wes' partner."

"_Ah,"_ Rob said and Travis can almost hear the smile in his voice. "_See you Saturday."_

* * *

_-throws feels at readers- Take them! Take them, and keep them! Just remember it always gets worse before it gets better.  
_


	13. Stirring

_Another chapter for everyone! Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

There only so many things Travis can say to keep a one sided conversation going. It's not his fault really, but there are only so many updates that can happen and mindless talking that can take place. Besides it's hard to make jokes to a coma patient who just lays there. There were only so many insults Travis could say before he felt like if anyone walked in they would think he was a jerk. So Travis has to find other ways to fulfill his time spent with Wes when he isn't talking.

He brought a book one of his foster sisters recommended he read about six months ago. It's not a bad read, not something he would pick up if he actually had the time to go to the bookstore and buy a book, or even go to the library. Police work has him hardly standing still; Travis doesn't have much time for the luxury most single people might have, like reading for pleasure.

He turned the page of the book sighing slightly as he realized it was slightly becoming a cheesy romance book. Not cheesy in the teenage novel sort of way, but a sort of fairytale crossing of people from different walks of life and are beautiful people who aren't happy till the just see the other. Travis doesn't hold it against his foster sister, she read it in a book club, and she usually didn't swing for those kind of books, but she liked this one.

Travis finds his eyes wondering to Wes though. Subconsciously he thinks to himself as he pulled himself away and turned his eyes back to the book. He flipped through the pages, trying to see where the romance will end and the plot will pick back up. Three pages of mindless sort of flirting and beating around the bush, Travis can handle that. He breezed through them, and the story turned back to the plot of spies and crime.

After about an hour of reading, a nurse entered the room for her rounds. Travis closed the book ripping himself away from the world of fiction he was coming to quite enjoy, aside from the torn romance that seemed to be forming. She gave him a small smile when he noticed her and gave her a small wave. He placed the book down on the small table by Wes' bed and rubbed his face a bit to wake up and break out of reading mood.

"Good book?" The nurse asked as she walked over to the machines on the other side of Wes' bed.

Travis glanced at the book for a second. He shrugged, "It was recommended. It's not all that bad." Travis said turning back to her. "Not something I would pick out, but not a bad read either way."

The nurse giggled to herself if she wrote something down. "Aren't most recommended books like that?"

"True."

A silence sat on them for a moment, aside from the beeping of the machines. The nurse checked every little things, doing slight adjustments to some machines. She rounded around to the other side, and Travis moved out of her way. He moved to the foot of the bed to give her some space. She continued on with her jotting stuff down and doing some adjusting.

"Huh, that's odd." She said suddenly, pausing in her work. Travis just watches her for a second as she did some double checking. He bites back the need to ask what was going, figuring she would eventually tell him something. She placed the clip board down on Travis book before she turned around. "Excuse me for a sec," she said sweetly before she practically trotted out of the room.

Travis debated following her, trying to figure out what was going on. He found himself looking from the door to Wes and then the machines attached to him, then going back to the door. He can't make any sense of what could possibly be going wrong with the machines, and Wes is still just sort of there.

Eventually the nurse came back in the room with a doctor quick on her tail and they start throwing medical terms back and forward. Travis is lost in it all, but he can read their actions enough to know something wasn't as right as it should have been. He watched the doctor took Wes' pulse, and placed his stethoscope on Wes' chest, which Travis noticed was rising and falling abnormally.

"What's going on?" Travis asked.

The doctor looked at Travis, but didn't say anything before he turned back to Wes. He muttered something to the nurse before she hurried over to Travis in an attempt to lead him out of the room. Travis fought her lead a bit, wiggling his arm free, or turning just enough to stop her lead on him. Nurse start shuffling in, some in a rushed looking manner and others are just sort straggling in from something else.

"Mr. Marks, please come with me." The nurse ushered him, her hold getting tighter in a manner that reminded Travis of some of his foster mothers were they were scowled him.

"No, I want to know what the hell is going on in there." Travis said stubbornly as Wes' heart rate suddenly picked up and people were muttering about a sedative.

The nurse managed to yank him back to the nurses' station and placed him in a chair. "Jeremy, watch him." She snapped before she hurried back to Wes' room.

Some nurse who was in his mid-twenties looked at Travis, and knew in a way, Travis could throw him down on the floor if he wanted to. He looked dazed as he hovered a phone away from his ear. His eyes darted from Travis and in the direction the nurse has run off to. Travis could feel the silent question of "What the hell just happened?" hanging in the air. He just shrugged and the man went back to his phone call.

A few minutes later, the nurse who pulled Travis returned later with the book Travis had been reading. She handed it to him with a smile.

"Mr. Mitchell is fine," She said sweetly. "We had to sedate him so he could wake up smoother." She smiled wider as Travis took the book slowly. "He should be fine, Dr. Davis will come and get you when their all done. Read your book to past the time." Travis just stared at her shocked and she laughed. "At least try."

* * *

_So we're almost there~! Be excited people! I know some people are going to so excited._


	14. When Your Eyes Flutter Open

_Just took an exam and "passed" it. But whatever, the important thing is I'm updating and that's what I'm focusing on currently!_

* * *

The sedatives seemed to have worn off at around midnight, seeing as how Wes started stirring. Travis was struggling to keep his eyes open the moment there was complete silence, yet at the smallest sound he would shot awake.

He was alone in the room with Wes; he had a feeling had anyone else been in the room with him he might not be dozing off so easily. However, Alex had court in the morning, and as much as she was sure the judge and others would understand her absence, she owed it to her client to be there. Sutton had had a date night with his wife, and Travis was not going to push on that. Mary didn't want to drive, and she was exhausted from a day with friends. Travis didn't mind being alone, he just wanted Wes to wake up already.

However, the moment Wes groaned, Travis was on his feet and wide awake. He watched as Wes' hand grabbed at the sheets and then release them as the man took a breath that was too deep and was probably painful. He sort of whined a bit. Then he was still. Still like he had been in a coma, and for a second Travis' heart stopped.

Was it possible for a coma patient to slip back into a coma while they were waking up? Because if that was true, Travis might strangle Wes for getting his hopes up.

But then Wes' eyes fluttered open. His pale blue eyes dazed and confused, and apparently blinded, seeing as how he shut them and groaned. The fluttered open again, still confused as they surveyed what they could of the room without moving anything. Travis let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, his heart feeling like it was exploding with relief and joy. Wes decided to look around and actually use his body, and Travis watched as he discovered that wasn't a good idea.

"Wow, easy there." Travis said, springing forward to help Wes back on the bed

Wes looked at him hard, like his brain was searching for a name or how he could possibly know Travis. Travis isn't too startled by the look; Wes didn't do mornings without coffee or the proper amount of time. Wes would give anyone that look if he just woke up.

"Travis?" Wes croaked out as he eased back into the pillow.

"Yeah…" Travis said watched the blonde.

"What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Travis asked with a slight bit of teasing in his tone.

"I…" Wes said, then paused and though about it for a minute. Literally. "It's foggy."

"Okay," Travis said with a smile. "I'm gonna go get the doctor." Travis made his way to the door. "Stay like that, don't move!" He gave Wes a warning look before jogging to the nurses' station and informing them of Wes consciousness.

It isn't too long after that the doctors come into his room with papers and questions, while nurses hook him up to a different IV. Poor Wes is just in the middle of it all trying to answer the questions the best he can. His mind is still foggy, and there are some things he was hazy one, but the doctors deemed he had no loss of memory and his brain functions normally. They collected some blood for tests, and left Wes alone with Travis again.

"How long has it been?" Wes asked, he's getting slightly perky to do the pain medication. Got to love Morphine.

"A little over a month." Travis informed with a bit of a smile. "A bit of a sleeping beauty move if you ask me."

Wes made a sound, and flopped his head to look at the other side of the room. "Were you here the whole time?"

"If you want to think that." Travis said because in reality he's not sure he wants Wes to know he slept in his room as much as he could over the past weeks.

"I will." Wes said suddenly.

A silence come upon them, Wes still observing the room as much as he could before the pain medication took his mind away. Travis watched him with a small smile,

"I'm glad you're back with us."

* * *

_So Wes is awake now! YEAH! PARTY AT MY PLACE!  
_


	15. The Road to Recovery

_I love how I should be studying for my Physics Exam in like less than eight hours...or you know sleeping, but I'm not, I'm updating this and writing the hell out of stuff. I love how I clearly have my priorities straight. _

_Also I liked how some people thought this was over...nope, there is like three more chapters after this!  
_

* * *

If there was one thing Travis knew about Wes, it was that he does not like slow recoveries or things that take longer than necessary to get done. Wes hated physical therapy because it just seemed to go on forever. He was the type of person who would prefer to just be fine when he healed. While he was divorcing Alex one would think he was the one suggesting the divorce, but he just wanted the thing to be done because it was taking to long for him. For patient man, Wes wasn't actually very patient for something things. If something was going to take x to y amount of weeks, Wes would be sure it happened in x amount of time, if not sooner.

So it was safe to say that when the doctor in charge of Wes told him that there would need to be physical therapy before he could even think about starting to work again that they were suddenly dead in Wes' eyes. Of course, Travis knew that Sutton wasn't going to just let him back on the force after being in a coma for a month, not even if Wes was in perfect shape, Wes knows that. He has to do a psych-evaluation any way, as well as show he can handle his gun. Still it was just more bad news and delay to his life. Wes had not been overly happy to find out that Robert kicked him out of his room. The doctor smartly left, leaving with a comment about how it would start in three days, which for Wes was not clearly enough.

"You realize that physical therapy is probably just to get your body working again after a month of not moving." Travis commented when the doctor was out the door. "It's not even to help you recover yet."

Wes turned to him slowly, giving him a long hard look. "Thank you for reminding me Travis."

Travis chuckled, Wes is always a little grouchy when his pain pills start to wear off or are taking forever to take effect. "Welcome." Travis said with a smile.

Wes snorted at him, turning back to the food in front of him, stabbing at his jello that was wiggling too much with a controlled rage.

It's been four days since Wes woke up and for the most part he was still the regular Wes. After three days of simply being in a bed, awake and not doing anything, he had some pent up energy. The first day he was loopy as hell, which was comical. Travis never pictured him having a conversation with Wes that made absolutely that made no sense to anyone but Wes. The second day Wes was in and out of sleep, which was kind of adorable because mid-sentence Wes would just drop off.

The third day Wes was more aware of the fact that he visitors. He had other visitors before, Alex and his mother to name a few, but he only seemed to half aware of anyone but Travis. Sutton sent Amy and Kate to get Wes' statement that day, and it went over rather well. Wes didn't remember much after he felt the ripping pain in his side, and he didn't know where the hell the gun came from. In reality, no one was expecting Wes to really remember in much detail or even notice the gun. Alex came later in the afternoon to allow Travis to sneak away and get some stuff done at his house.

"It's not going to be that bad, Wes." Travis said dug through his cup of fruit salad for the last piece of pineapple.

"Right, because it's not like I haven't missed enough work as it is." Wes said sharply.

"Technically, that was different."

Wes looked at him. "Still missed more than a month of work."

"Nothing interesting happened." Actually a lot of interesting things had happened, cases Travis would have loved to have worked on, nothing strange or over the top. Just some interesting robberies and one or two murder cases that were just too easy to be real.

"That puts me at such an ease, Travis." Wes said with a roll of his eyes before he started stabbing at his salad. "I don't care that I missed anything interesting, I care that I missed work."

"Well you had to go and be Sleeping Beauty." Travis teased lightly. A laugh escaped Wes' mouth before he could bit it back. He covered it quickly, shaking with silent chuckles.

"Are you implying that you're the prince that woke me up with a kiss?" Wes shot back with a teasing tone.

Travis choked on the piece of fruit in his mouth, instantly covering his mouth and sitting up straight in his sit. _I wish…_Travis thought briefly. He didn't look at Wes till he managed to swallow his food and breathe of a bit. As well as suppress the burning of his cheeks. It was just mindless teasing, but the fact that Wes had no idea of Travis' feelings for some reason it just got to Travis.

He coughed before he looked up at Wes who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow and a concerned look. "You okay?" Travis just nodded. "You didn't actually kiss me, did you?"

"No, where did you get that idea?" Travis said suddenly defensively. Wes opened his mouth to say something, but Travis cut him off. "Eat your salad before your pills start fucking with your empty stomach."

Wes does what he's told, but Travis can't shake the confused look the man gave him.

* * *

_XD Hope you liked it!  
_


	16. Let's Go Home

_Short chapter is short. Oh well, what can you do?_

* * *

"You ready?" Travis questioned from the doorway of Wes' room, his eyes carefully looking up and down the blonde back. He was happy to see he was dressed in the clothes Travis had brought him.

The blonde was silent. Travis notices his shoulders are slightly downcast, even though the dress shirt Wes was wearing as slightly too big for him now. Wes had folded back the sleeves and Travis could see the muscles in his arms moving, twisting something just out of sight from Travis. The reaction to his question caused some concern in Travis, but he half expected it when Wes wasn't half as excited as he had been about leaving the day before.

Travis sighed as he entered the room. He rounded the bed, stopping just at the foot of it in case Wes flipped out for no reason, coming around to look at Wes from the side. He was there just twirling away at a cane his mother had given him before she left in a way that could only mean they were going to go back to their emailing conversations. However, Travis knew that wasn't what had Wes in whatever down mood he was in now. There's the psychological-evaluation looming over his head, and the mountain of work he has put his body through. He sighed again before he moved it sit on the bed next to Wes.

"Hey, everything okay?" Travis asked cheerfully, giving Wes a small nudge with his elbow.

The blonde looked up at him, his eyes slightly glaring as he looked at Travis. Travis watched him closely, holding back the urge to just hug Wes tightly in his arms. He could figure out half the things that Wes was not okay with just by looking at his body language at that moment.

"Come on, you're leaving this place; going home." Travis said, trying to lighten the mood.

"No, I'm going to your place." Wes said a bit sharply as he turned to look out at the view from his window. "I don't have a home, Travis. In case you forgot I got kicked out where I was living because it was a business." Travis mentally checks off that his 'what was bothering Wes' list.

"Thanks for making my apartment sound second rate." Travis grumbled playfully, he waved Wes off when he tried to correct him. "I get it. You and Change haven't always gotten along. There is nothing new there." He kept his eyes on Wes. "Besides, my place is always open to you, man."

Wes made a sound, turning to look at the Travis. Travis can't help but notice the pale blue eyes search is face for the smallest detail that Travis might be lying. Travis watched the smile that graced Wes' face for a moment. The other didn't say anything in reply.

"So, can we bust you out of here now?" Travis said as he hopped off the bed, pointing to the door with his thumb, and laughing at the face Wes made.

"Why are you making it sounds like this is a prison break, we're just signing some papers." Wes said unamused.

"Would you rather I _escort_ you out then?" Travis said holding out his hand in a manner he remembered every prince or overly romantic male lead in a movie doing. He gave Wes a challenging grin, because he knew Wes would hop back on the idea of breaking him out.

He noticed the slight look of surprise of Wes face, which soured away into Wes' usual expression. The blonde eased of the bed on his own, cringing as he pulled and worked the tense muscles. He stood straight before be even thought of putting his cane on the floor. For some reason the picture of Wes being an 'ideal, rich gentleman' flashed in his mind causing him to smile to himself.

"Fine, keep your idea of a prison break. You mention even the idea of the word escorting me I will hit you with this cane." Wes grumbled before he started hobbling towards the door and the awaiting wheelchair just out of sight of the doorway.

Travis just laughed as he carefully hovered behind his partner.

* * *

_FINALLY, Wes is out of the hospital! Thought the whole process of writing this story I was so ready to get Wes out of the hospital and into Travis house from the moment I had the idea. I was like "Goddamn it, can I just wake Wes up now, no I don't feel like Travis has even feels, GOD DAMMIT!"_

_Any way, hope you enjoyed.  
_


	17. The Prince Learns Face Anatomy

_Sorry, this took me forever to update. I've been home and all the time I would have to write was consumed by stuff I had to do and laziness. Also, I started watching Supernatural like a mad woman, finally on season 6 and I have about 55 episodes before I'm all caught up, which really doesn't sound all that bad. So that's good...I guess._

* * *

Travis was happy to find that work was a lot easier now that Wes was out of his coma. The empty desk took him to the fact that Wes was back at his apartment, probably attempting not to go crazy before he has to go anywhere. Wes was usually a phone call away, the only time he wasn't was when he was in physical therapy, but usually by then Travis was filing papers like crazy it seems. He didn't miss driving to the hospital, it was nice to go straight home and have a dinner cooked by Wes.

It was slightly domestic, Travis doesn't mind, and Wes didn't seem to think much about it or comment on the fact. Well to be fair, he dropped one comment about how he felt like a pent up house wife and Travis had just laughed. Things were smoother than when they were undercover as well, obviously for a lot of reasons.

He had gotten use to their little domestic routine, which had only been broken a few times when Wes exhausted from his therapy. When he opened his apartment door, he discovered it was likely to be another one of those nights. He rounded the corner, peeking into the kitchen to find Wes nowhere in sight. He sighed, shaking his head and he hung his jacket over one of the counter chairs.

Travis was about to head to his bedroom that he had been letting Wes use till he was recovered enough, when he heard something shift a bit on the couch. He quickly hurried to the couch, looking over the back to find Wes passed out on the couch, looking like he literally just dropped down onto the couch. He hadn't changed out of his clothes or anything. Travis chuckled to himself, rounding around the couch.

He sat in the space between the coffee table and the couch, smiling softly as he just watched Wes sleep. It was a little weird, he would admit, if Wes woke up, Travis would no doubt never hear the end of it. Still for some reason he sat there, feeling slightly like some character in a romantic movie where the main couple just keeps missing each other. The sort of scene where it's clear the guy his head over heels in love with the girl and they just do the most gentle and simple thing and women in the audience melt.

Before he can stop himself, his fingers brush along Wes' cheek, a smile working his way up to his lips. Wes' eyes flutter open suddenly, causing Travis to freeze and stare at him wide eyes, his smile instantly dropping. Great, how the hell was he going to talk his way out of this one? Give him a pretty girl and a slight misunderstanding and he could get out of it. Give him the partner he was secretly in love with, well he was screwed. Wes knew him way to well to know when he was lying, and there was no point in saying he was trying to pull something.

"Travis?" Wes asked, blinking at him. "What time is?"

Travis is thankful that he watch is on the wrist attached the hand that got him into the whole mess. He flashily flung his arm in the air before bringing it closer to read. "Around six-thirty or so."

"Damn, really?" Wes asked, not moving from his spot, and Travis is still too freaked out to get up and do something else. Quietness settled, and it's nice and natural, Travis is hoping Wes will fall back asleep and he can move. However, Wes seemed to have other plans of staring at him. "I've been remembering some stuff from when I was in the coma." Wes said suddenly.

Travis raised his eyes brows in shock. "Like what kind of stuff?" Travis asked, amazing he was able to sound so curious.

"Random bits of conversation, pieces really." Wes keeps staring at him, and Travis stiffens a bit more then they're eyes meet. "You know the prince woke Sleeping Beauty by kissing her lips right."

Travis blood ran cold. _Shit_, Wes _knew_. Travis swallowed more awkwardly than he would have liked. "Of course I know that, I do have younger foster siblings you know."

"Then why did you kiss my forehead." Wes said with a bit of a laugh and a small smile. Travis just gapped at him, of all things to remember he had to remember that. Wes chuckled, probably due to the look on Travis' face. "My mother approves of you, and she doesn't approve a lot of people."

"Where the hell are you trying to take this conversation?" Travis asked, surprising himself slight with the fact that he could still manage words.

He watched Wes shrug a bit. "I don't know, hopefully somewhere were you learn face anatomy, or be a prince or something."

Travis laughed, dropping his head into the couch and just laughed. For some reason he feels like Wes had known for a while, because Wes is just smart like that. His laughter subsided and he turned to Wes who was watching him closely. Travis grinned, because Wes had a really weird way of asking to be kissed, and Travis finally had the courage to not wait till Wes' patience ran out.

* * *

_They did kiss by the way. It's vague and stuff but I like it. I figured I would sort of pull some Sleeping Beauty jokes out of the fact.  
_

_Anyway hope you enjoyed.  
_


	18. Epilogue

_I figured this needed a bit more of a close than just the two of them kissing. So ta-da! Short chapter is short though._

* * *

Travis Marks and Wesley Mitchell did not fall in love with each other. Or rather they were around each other so much they never noticed. It was just a sort of realization upon waking up one day and then everything they did for each other just made sense. They never noticed because the other was simply always there. Seven years is a long time. They were friends, brothers, lovers. They were _everything_ to each other.

They're first date was years before they ever got together. It was some diner sort of place. Travis remembered it perfectly the moment Wes mentioned it. They had talked over a case file, Wes was still in Missing Persons, not to mention he was married, and Travis was struggling with Phil. Then in a flash they were partners, despite all their head butting.

Wes didn't have a logical reason why he loved Travis, it just felt right. Easy, fluid, and solid. Travis teased him for his reasons, simply because it was fun to see Wes sputter around for a way to explain what he meant. Clearly laying out the fact that he knew something was up with Travis, but he could never place his finger on it till they kissed. Travis doesn't really believe him, but at the same time, Wes knows random things sometimes.

A domestic life struck up between them after they're "confessions." Wes just sort of moved in. Staying well past the time he need "supervision" in his healing. They kept it a secret, telling Sutton and Dr. Ryan that Travis was simply opening his doors to Wes till he found a place. Sutton just sort of nodded and Wes whispered a "He knows" when they left his office. Dr. Ryan just raised an eyebrow and jotted something down; Travis took his turn in whispering who knew.

Travis Mark and Wesley Mitchell did not fall in love. They didn't really confess to each other. They're first date was years before they even thought about having anything between them, and it took them till one of them almost died for them to even start up a relationship.

However, none of that mattered. All that mattered was the fact that it was clear to them that they couldn't live without the other.

* * *

_If anything I think this really wraps up everything and their relationship. I hope you enjoyed this story._


End file.
